Passover Brisket

I never knew brisket was a Passover food. But recently a friend had a bunch of people over for Passover Dinner and the star attraction was the brisket. Passover was over a month ago, but then again, my friend is not especially observant. There was no seder plate (probably because the rest of us aren't Jewish) but the food was great. She had slowly cooked the brisket the previous day to a tenderness where the meat immediately crumbled when poked by a fork. You could definatley taste the brisket had been well coddled. I think at some point, the cooking process included pouring half a can of beer of it. For dinner, we also had a beet and dill borscht, carrots candied in honey and kugel -- which was egg noodles baked with sour cream, eggs, sugar, butter and other foods you combine only for a festive occasion. All the dishes were dishes my friend grew up with at Passover. She found the recipes on-line. I've been meaning to ask her for the brisket recipe.
Someone recently wrote a cookbook featuring recipes all made with bones and she had an interesting theory about why big, meaty dishes are popular at holidays. Historically, it's because people couldn't afford to eat a big kill except for special dinners. But there's also something communal about carving into the same cut of meat for everyone at the table to share that makes it an enduring tradition. She argues that meaty dishes -- especially those with bones in them -- demand more attention at the table than a chicken breast or ground beef ever would. There's something majestic about bringing a whole, roasted turkey or leg of lamb into the dining room.